A.Word.A.Day

A.Word.A.Day--filemot

filemot (FIL-mot) noun, adjective

The color of a dead or faded leaf: dull brown or yellowish brown.

[From the corruption of the French term feuillemorte, from feuille (leaf)
+ morte (dead). Ultimately from Indo-European root bhel- (to thrive or
bloom) that gave us flower, bleed, bless, foliage, blossom, and blade.]

"The walls were panelled; each panel was comparted like a modern office
desk, and each compartment crowded with labelled folios all filemot with
age and use."
Lewis Wallace; Ben-Hur; Harper & Brothers; 1880.

Since this newsletter reaches almost all parts of the globe, you may be
reading this on a day when there's a torrid sun or a gentle spring breeze.
Perhaps you are forced indoors by a drenching monsoon or a frigid snowstorm.
But in this part of the world we are celebrating autumn, the season of colors.

As the falling leaves form a feast for the eyes, it is a perfect week to
talk about colors. Let's consider some unusual words to describe oranges
and browns, grays and blues, and other shades in between.

Interestingly, there's even a color named after the color of dead leaves!

-Anu Garg
(garg AT wordsmith.org)

X-Bonus

New opinions are always suspected, and usually opposed, without any other
reason but because they are not already common. -John Locke, philosopher
(1632-1704)